Abstract

Management must consider a number of factors when seeking to internalize environmental values within design and production processes. Success depends on an integrated management approach that includes a clear vision of what is to be accomplished, a workable business plan, effective business processes, and an understanding of the financial impact of reuse and recycling.

Introduction

A quiet revolution is sweeping corporate environmental management. After decades of managing environmental emissions from their plants, corporations are turning their attention to the environmental effects of their products. This new emphasis is being driven by a combination of market and government forces. More than ever before, customer demands and competitor initiatives are introducing environmental issues into product design decisions. At the same time, governments around the world are imposing broad new requirements that address the environmental effects of products and of the processes used to make and support them.

These requirements are raising the stakes for design decisions and posing unprecedented challenges for manufacturing companies. They are forcing manufacturers to reexamine their approaches to a wide range of concerns, including product and packaging design, material selection, production processes, and energy consumption, to name just a few. In an era of brutal international competition, companies must reconcile these new requirements with other imperatives, particularly pressures to compete on cost and time-to-market.

Design for environment is a discipline that provides strategies and techniques for designing and producing environmentally responsible products, which can compete in the international marketplace. To be effective, design for environment requires an integrated management approach.